Sgt York question
I know I have seen it many times but just can't remember: Just what rifle did Alvin York use to capture/kill all those Germans? Tom
I do know (well pretty sure) the pistol he used was the 1911?? T
I do know (well pretty sure) the pistol he used was the 1911?? T
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I believe it was the 1903 Springfield. If I remember correctly he favored it over the 1917. If I'm wrong someone will be alone to correct me. 0 -
1917 Enfield. He had initially been issued the Springfield but they gave him and the rest of his unit (as well as a host of others) the Enfield.
Your assumption on the 1911 is accurate.0 -
WW2, I am inclined to agree with you. Common belief was the 03. However on the Enfield, was it 303 or 30-06? I believe in the movie (Randolph Scott?) used the wrong rifle. Tom 0 -
M1917 Enfield + M1911 Colt 45 - Sargeant Alvin York's rifle is located at Middle Tennessee State University -MTSU- Phone #615-898-2375 - Professor Tom Nolan(Alvin York Project 2006) 0 -
quote:Originally posted by tccox
WW2, I am inclined to agree with you. Common belief was the 03. However on the Enfield, was it 303 or 30-06? I believe in the movie (Randolph Scott?) used the wrong rifle. Tom
If one of 'em had a peep sight, he used the other one.
COuldn't lead too well with the peep, he said.0 -
There were actually 2 of the "P" models of the enfield rifle, both looked pretty identical. The P14, or pattern 1914 rifle was in .303 british (my dad and I have one, shoots like a dream), and the P17, or Pattern 1917, was in .30-06. This rifle was developed and produced to augment the service rifle numbers as 1903 springfield production was not able to keep up with the demand. The P17 is commonly referred to as the Eddystone.
Here's a great link to Sgt York's diary, it's a really powerful read:
http://www.alvincyork.org/Diary.htm0 -
I went to Alvin C. Yorks homestead last summer and got to talk to one of his daughter inlaw's that runs the place.
We talked about the rifle he used and she swears that he told her and her husband that he used the 1903 at basic then he was issued the 1917 Enfield, but he traded it for a 1903 later on before the big fight he was involved in.
She said the rifle that is on display is the wrong rifle. They lost the real rifle somewhere when they were sending him back home to sell bonds.0 -
BTW, Grunt 2 hit the nail square on the head. Thanks!!! 0 -
It was Gary Cooper 0 -
quote:Originally posted by wolfdog45
I went to Alvin C. Yorks homestead last summer and got to talk to one of his daughter inlaw's that runs the place.
We talked about the rifle he used and she swears that he told her and her husband that he used the 1903 at basic then he was issued the 1917 Enfield, but he traded it for a 1903 later on before the big fight he was involved in.
She said the rifle that is on display is the wrong rifle. They lost the real rifle somewhere when they were sending him back home to sell bonds.
Thats the way I remember reading it too.0 -
Alvin York used the 1911 Colt.
In the movie Gary Cooper used a Luger, because the Colt would not cycle blanks.
By the way I grew up next to the famous scene of his training camp rifle scene.
He went to training at Camp Gordon Georgia.
When I was a kid in Atlanta, at the place where we played Little League were all these weird concrete walls out in the woods.
There was a pond that had a concrete wall that ran across it, about 3 inches underwater.
We would walk across that wall, it looked like you were walking on water.
Some of the kids told me that this used to be Camp Gordon.
It was on Dresden Drive at Buford Highway.
I have looked it up on the internet and it was, indeed Camp Gordon in WW1. This was a huge, sprawling army base 5 miles long in WW1. The only part that remains today is the former Naval Air Station, now called Peachtree DeKalb Airport.
I would like to do a little more digging and find the spot where the rifle range was in WW1, I would like to see that spot.0 -
His son has stated that the 03 Springfield was the rifle his father told him he used. He did not like the Enfield. I have read this in several different interviews over the years. People believe too much in what they see in movies. I tend to believe what the son had to say rather than some gun hating movie producer. 0 -
He didn't like the Enfield because of the ears on the sight protector is what I understood or something about the sights. Maybe some other reasons also. I went to his home for a tour and met his son. They did have a Model 1917 Enfield there that someone had donated. It's been a long time but I think it was in or around Pall Mall Tennessee. 0 -
Dang it!! I just bought two Eddystones (30-06) and I just knew one of them was what he used. I don't know if the real trouth will ever be known. I guess it is well known, whaterver rifle he was using, he was pretty darn good it. I just wish it could be nailed down at to exactly what make/modle he used. As far as the 'exact" rifle he used, Just ain't now way. Wish I could get hold of the little 30 carbine I used in Ethiopia. Tom 0 -
Great story. 0 -
great movie,great guy!has his own web site.wife is wakinkig must slwwp................post site in yhe AM......yes ive geen drinking. yes i do not have my glassea.and yes ehe lights bare off!!!!!!!!!!!!!![:D] 0
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